metrofandomcom-20200223-history
Route G (New York City Subway)
The G Brooklyn-Queens Crosstown Local is a service of the New York City Subway. It is the only full-time non-shuttle service that does not enter and does not give service to . It is colored light green on the route sign (either on the front and/or side - depending on equipment used) and on station signs and the NYC Subway map, as it represents a service provided on the IND Crosstown Line. The operates at all times. During rush hours and middays, it operates between Long Island City–Court Square south to Smith–Ninth Streets. At other times, it is extended north along the IND Queens Boulevard Line local tracks to 71st–Continental Avenue–Forest Hills. Service history *On August 19, 1933, service began operating between Queens Plaza and Nassau Avenue. *On July 1, 1937, the IND Crosstown Line was completed to Bergen Street and was connected to the BMT Culver Line. The train's southern terminal was Smith–Ninth Streets, and it operated as a local along Queens Boulevard to 71st-Continental Avenue–Forest Hills. *In July 1968, service was extended to Church Avenue, and the train operated as an express service on the IND Culver Line. This service pattern ended in August 1976 because many customers at local stations on the Culver Line wanted direct access to . *On May 24, 1987, the and lines switched terminals in . As part of the reroute plan, Queens Plaza became the northern terminal for the train on evenings, nights, and weekends. *On September 30, 1990, service was extended to Jamaica–179th Street during late nights to replace the , which terminated at 21st Street–Queensbridge. *In May 1997, due to construction on the connector between the IND 63rd Street Line and the Queens Boulevard Line, trains terminated at Long Island City–Court Square on evenings, nights, and weekends. *On December 16, 2001, the 63rd Street Connector opened, and Court Square became the permanent northern terminal during midday and rush hours (replaced along by the train). Service was extended to 71st Avenue other times, although due to construction, the line often terminates at Court Square. Controversy The introduction of the service in 2001 added nine additional peak-hour trains coming into Manhattan on the IND Queens Boulevard Line.Sarah Kershaw, "Proposed Line Would Lighten Subway Crush," The New York Times, December 2, 2000 However, to make room for the train on Queens Boulevard, the train was given a new weekday terminal at Long Island City–Court Square. In the original plan, Court Square was to have been train's full-time northern terimal. The New York Times described the service plan as "complex and heavily criticized." In response to complaints from riders, who lost their transfer to Manhattan-bound trains at Queens Plaza, the MTA agreed to install an underground moving walkway between Court Square and the 23rd Street–Ely Avenue station, where and trains are available. A free out-of-system Metrocard transfer was created at those two stations—one of only two such transfers in the system. The MTA also agreed to extend the to 71st Avenue during evenings and weekends, and to operate the service more frequently. The authority "had spent several hundred thousand dollars on tests, trying to figure out a way to keep the G train running past the Court Square Station and farther into Queens on weekdays. But because of the addition of the V train, which will share space along the Queens Boulevard lines with the trains already there — the E, F and R — G trains could not fit during the daytime, when service is heaviest."Randy Kennedy, "Panel Approves New V Train but Shortens G Line to Make Room," The New York Times, May 25, 2001 To allow more frequent service, train lengths were cut down to four cars. Some passengers missed trains because they were standing at the wrong part of the platform: :To run more frequently, the G needed more trains, but there were not enough on hand. So the solution was to cut the trains from six cars to four, sticking all the leftover cars together to make extra trains. While on paper this means more trains, it sometimes seems to riders that it means only more of them packed into smaller trains. :And, more importantly for explaining the G-train sprint, it means that on a platform designed to be filled by an eight-car, 600-foot train, the ones that show up now are only 300 feet long. Back in December, when the change was first made, paper signs were posted on platform columns to let riders know where these truncated trains would stop. But the signs are gone now and for people unfamiliar with the line, the wind sprints have begun.Randy Kennedy, "Next to This Event, the Turnstile High Jump Is Easy," The New York Times, April 9, 2002 train riders made the restoration of service an issue in the 2002 New York gubernatorial race, but the transit authority said, "Unfortunately, putting the G back to full service is just not an option, given our track capacity — and that's not likely to change."Elizabeth Hays, "Riders Rail at G Switch," The New York Daily News, October 22, 2002 http://www.savetheg.org/documents/dailynews_102402.html train riders have also lobbied for the creation of a second free out-of-system transfer between the Broadway station and Hewes Street on the BMT Jamaica Line, which is only two blocks away. However, the MTA said, "We have no intention of making that a permanent free transfer."Shane Miller, "Let Us Take a Free Swipe," Greenpoint Star, July 1, 2004http://www.savetheg.org/documents/greenpointstar_070104.html Most of the stations along the train's route were built with multiple exits to the street. Over the years, many of the lower-use exits were closed (as they were in other parts of the subway system), as the city was concerned that they were a magnet for criminals, and there was insufficient traffic to justify staffing them full-time. But in July 2005, in response to community pressure, the MTA agreed to re-open the South Portland Avenue exit of the Fulton Street station. The New York Times described it as a "minor victory" for "a maligned line."Jake Mooney, "For a Maligned Line, a Minor Victory," The New York Times, July 3, 2005 http://www.savetheg.org/documents/nytimes_070305.html During construction on the Queens Boulevard Line, the train frequently terminates at Court Square, even at times when the published timetable says that it runs to 71st Avenue. Some riders "are suspicious that the service disruptions are simply a de facto way to implement the original plan of halving G train service." However, an MTA spokesman says that "It's not personal.... If you want to keep the system up to date, you need to make sure the track and switching are all in good repair."Neille Ilel, "'G' is For Gone — G Train Loses Nearly Half its Weekend Stops," Queens Chronicle, July 21, 2005 http://www.savetheg.org/documents/queenschronicle_072105.html A community group, Save the G!, has regularly lobbied the MTA for more train service since the original cutbacks when the train was introduced in 2001. The MTA did end the G at Court Square and in 2017 took away the moving walkway permanently for the L rain shutdown that Gov. Cuomo nixed for a 19 month shut down in favor of night work and weekend work, The MTA lied when hey said they would run the G into ueens more frequently as their plan was to terminate it at Court Square all along. People including the elderly now have to walk through the tunnel in 2019 instead of extending the G to Queens Plaza stop which is next stop from Court Square which would be a crossover the platform switch to the E. No tunnel crossing needed. Why they only run 4 car trains on the G is beyond me. Just MTA stupidity to make more crowded trains. Route The following table shows the lines used by Route G: } | |- |style="border: 0px; background:# ; color:gray;" align=center| |Seventh Avenue | | | |- |style="border: 0px; background:# ; color:gray;" align=center| |15th Street – Prospect Park | | | |- |style="border: 0px; background:# ; color:gray;" align=center| |Fort Hamilton Parkway | | | |- |style="border: 0px; background:# ; color:gray;" align=center| |Church Avenue | | | |} Notes External links *MTA NYC Transit — G Brooklyn-Queens Crosstown Local * }} References *Line By Line History